Parents can help their infants achieve developmental milestones by engaging them in age-appropriate activities. To develop a baby's linguistic skills, parents may talk or sing to their baby as much as possible. Infants learn by listening to and imitating sounds. They may combine early conversations with touching, cuddling and rocking their baby. Other developmental activities that babies enjoy are physical activities such as grabbing and manipulating big and small objects and dancing to music. Playing with hats and blankets or playing peek-a-boo also can be of value for infants.
As 1- to 2-year-old children become more established with their motor skills and begin to walk and run independently, grab objects and scribble, it is important to try to help them develop their skills further. Physical exercise such as dancing, running and jumping is beneficial for toddlers. Pretend play is vital at this age because it helps to develop imagination and attain social skills. Pretending to be animals, plants or objects, such as a balloon being filled with air, can be very enjoyable for young kids. Also, toddlers start to enjoy arts and crafts such as finger painting and playing with clay or play clay at that age. Reading stories or rhymes and regular conversations with children that age develops their linguistic skills.
Children who are 2 to 3 years old have a lot of energy. So incorporating physical activity into their schedule amid developmental activities is beneficial. Games such as Follow the Leader, in which a parent begins an activity such as tiptoeing through the room, touching toes, wobbling like a penguin, running in place or stretching and then the children do the same movements, keep kids occupied and happy. Because kids this age tend to have a short attention span, it is important to keep a developmental activity short and get its message across during its initial stage. Kids like to be independent. So parents can teach them developmental activities such as following a routine and taking care of their own needs, including feeding themselves and washing hands, brushing teeth and using the bathroom by themselves.
Kids who are 3 to 4 years of age are ready to learn shapes, numbers and letters through creative play. Games such as Name Spelling, which teaches children to recognize and write letters of their name, Number Match Up and Kitchen Shapes are simple ways to teach kids basic skills and information. Games such as It Felt Like, which encourages children to talk about the feeling caused by an action or activity, can be pleasurable and instructional.